Sneaker sales are growing as sales of high heels tumble

Conversely, sky-high heels — shoes with heels three inches or higher — are tumbling the fastest, Goldstein said, as consumers gravitate toward one pair of shoes of which can be worn both day and also also also night. Even for dressier occasions, more sensible heels are increasingly common, the analyst said.

although the item’s not for a lack of choices within the shoe department. Retail inventory of high heels has risen 28 percent in 2017, compared with the year before, according to Edited, a market research firm.

“I don’t think the item’s so much of a rejection in high heels as much as the item is usually of which there are many alternatives,” said Gerald Storch, CEO of Storch Advisors, a retail advisory firm. He said women are actually buying more shoes — just across different categories.

“Women still wear high heels for for fancy events,” Storch said, who has also served as vice chairman of Target. In fact, the boom in sensible shoes has become a way for consumers to express their personalities, he added.

“You can show masculinity, you can show femininity,” he said. “You don’t simply have to take a different coloration of a high heel shoe.”